Policies and strategies
- The main legislation for water use in the Republic of Kyrgyz is the Water Law, enacted in January 1994. However, in 2004, the Government has drafted a new version of the law called Water Code. The 1997 constitutional amendment organised the provision of water supply in rural areas.
- An Inter-Coordination Water Resource Commission, addressing interstate water relations among Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Xiang-Jiang-Uigur district of China, was created to manage the use and conservation of water resources in the region. In 1991, the National Law on Intergovernmental Use of Water Resources and Water Facilities of the Kyrgyz Republic was enacted to set the provision of the State's right of property on water resources within its territory and the share of funding in intergovernmental water programmes.
Institutions
- With the decentralization movement between 2001-2004, all state-owned enterprises engaged in water supply and sanitation were transferred to Local Self-Governance (LSG) authorities (based on the Law on LSG and Local Public Administration which passed in 2001). LSG authorities then founded stand-alone water supply and sanitation enterprises.
- The Department of Water Resources is responsible for regional relations with neighbouring countries (through the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea and the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination) and to implement national water policy. The Government had recognized the conflicting issues of water resources among neighbouring countries such as Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The Republic of Kyrgyz also participated in the National Water Policy Dialogues in Central Asia, sponsored by the European Union, to strengthen the integrated water resources management.
- For rural water supply, Kyrgyz Aizl Suu (KAS), an independent organisation in the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, manages the operation of water production and transmission systems for rural communities. And in each village, the Village Council organises the distribution of water supply in the community.
- The Ministry of Health is responsible for monitoring the quality of water through its Oblast (region) and Rayon offices.
- The Ministry of the Environment and the Hydrological Expedition of the State Committee of Geology and Mineral Resources, and the Department of Water Resources in the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources approve the exploitation of new ground water.
- Government projects in the field of sanitation and hygiene promotion are implemented through the Republican Centre for Health Promotion, under the Ministry of Health.
